how hubspot launches products (and measures success) (productcamp boston 2016)

How HubSpot Launches Products

Partner Day Event 2015

Narrative 1

Hi.

Jeffrey Vocell Principal Product Marketing Manager

@jvocell

We’re going to talk about

1. How Product Marketing is Structured

2. Launch Process

3. HubSpot’s Three Seasons

4. Q&A?

@jvocell

Product Marketing at HubSpotStructure

@jvocell

Kipp BodnarCMO

VP, Content & Product Marketing VP, Demand Gen VP, Brand & Buzz VP, Sales Marketing

@jvocell

Team Manager

PMM PMM PMM PMM

@jvocell

VP, Content & Product Marketing

Product Manager Product Marketing Manager

Work as a part of a small autonomous team to define, and understand a problem then deliver a solution.

@jvocell

We have no roadmap

Or sprints

Instead, we focus on big themes that Solve For The Customer (SFTC)

@jvocell

Product Marketing at HubSpotLaunch Process

@jvocell

Product launches are a lot like overnight success. Many think they just happen.

In reality, a lot of planning and hard work goes into a successful launch.

1. How differentiating is this change?

2. How intuitive is this change?

There are two questions we ask for every release:

A quick example of non marketable, and intuitive

1. Settings layout change

2. Navigation change

Phase 1: Understanding

@jvocell

We’re directly embedded with our teams

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Deeply understand who you are selling to

Analyze the Market (TAM, GTM, oh my!)

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Look at competition. How are they positioning their product?

Scott Brinker’s Marketing Technology Landscape

Phase II: Positioning

@jvocell

Step 1: Write a draft press release

What should you do with the Press Release?

• Share it with your Product Manager

• If you have a copywriter on staff, get any suggestions from them

• Reduce, and revise

Step 2: Create a Creative Brief & Positioning Doc

Phase III: Launch Plan

@jvocell

Create a Launch Plan

Step 1: Launch Overview

Step 2: Goals, Positioning, Screenshots

Step 3: Launch Channels

What are Product Notifications?

Launch Channels

Launch Channels

• Website• Blog(s)• Customer Blog• Marketing Blog• Sales Blog• Product Updates Blog

• Targeted Email• Dedicated Partner Email• Customer Forums on inbound.org• HubSpot Social Channels• Login Screen CTA• Internal Wiki

• Video• Press Outreach• HubSpot Academy• HUG Groups• Help Documentation• Webinar• Partner Dropbox• External Tool (i.e. websitegrader.com)• Influencer Outreach• Smart Content• In-App Messaging• Paid Advertising

Step 4: Internal Audiences

What is Product Nation?

• Once-a-month meeting with stakeholders from each department to discusslatest product updates, feedback, and plans. Led by Product Marketing, but some of the folks involved are:

• Product Manager• Support Product Expert• Services Product Expert• Sales Product Expert• Implementation Specialist• Inbound Professor (HubSpot Academy)• Sales Engineering

Product Marketing at HubSpot3 Seasons

@jvocell

HubSpot Launch Seasons

Seed Season INBOUND

INBOUND 2016

Tuna Season

Season 1: INBOUND

@jvocell

For a Large INBOUND Release:• Run the Launch Process we went through, but we’ll add:

• Message Testing - Generally 25+ weeks ahead of release • Video - Write script and work with in-house video team to produce • Case Study - We will always have a case study, or multiple, for a large scale release.

• Nurturing - Nurturing campaigns are launched while the keynote is being delivered

• New Web Content/Tools - New pages/microsites/or tools are launched while the keynote is being delivered

Questions?

@jvocell

Season 2: Tuna Season

What is Tuna Season?• Tuna season is when we look across the market at industry trends, look at a lot of our own internal data and deeply think about what’s coming next.

• From a launch standpoint we are generally releasing smaller releases in this stage, so while we may not actively be working on new launches we work on helping sales.

Season 3: Seed Season

What is Seed Season?• This is when new product development starts. • For Product Marketing, this is also when we immediately start to develop a Total Addressable Market

Questions?

@jvocell